Priesthood of Christ

Definition and Meaning

The priesthood of Christ is the doctrine that Jesus Christ serves as priest between God and humanity. Protestant theology presents it, together with the prophetic office and the kingly office, as one of the three offices that make up Christ's "threefold office." The title "Christ" means "the anointed one," and the offices of prophet, priest, and king, whose holders were anointed in the Old Testament, are understood to find their fulfillment in him.

The priestly office is usually divided into two parts:

• Sacrifice (oblation): his offering of himself on the cross as a sacrifice, paying the debt of sin in our place. This is treated in detail in the articles Atonement and Substitutionary Atonement of Christ.
• Intercession: his continual intercession for believers before God following his resurrection and ascension. See the article Intercession of Christ.

The Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith tradition summarizes this office as Christ's "once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us."

Biblical and Historical Background

In the Old Testament, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people. The Epistle to the Hebrews presents Jesus as the eternal high priest: "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 5:6, quoting Psalm 110:4). It further states that, unlike the Old Testament sacrifices repeated year after year, "by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12). Christ's intercession is described in Romans 8:34 and 1 John 2:1.

The framework of the threefold office became established in Reformed theology through the systematic formulation of John Calvin, and it was reflected in documents such as the Heidelberg Catechism. Pointing to the once-for-all completion of Christ's sacrifice, the Reformers criticized the view of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice. They also emphasized the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, according to which every believer may approach God directly through Christ. The Roman Catholic Church explains that the Mass does not repeat the sacrifice of the cross but makes that one sacrifice present.

Church Practice

• The custom, shared across denominations, of closing prayers "in the name of Jesus" is connected to the understanding that Christ is the sole mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).
• Presbyterian churches in Korea frequently use the Shorter Catechism as a textbook for teaching the threefold office to catechumens and candidates for baptism.
• Protestant denominations understand the Lord's Supper not as a repetition of the sacrifice but as a rite that commemorates the once-for-all sacrifice and in which believers partake of its grace. Denominations differ, however, in their understanding of how Christ is present in the Supper.
• The Anglican Church of Korea calls its clergy "priests." Nevertheless, the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican tradition state that the offering Christ made once for all is alone the perfect atonement.
• Denominations differ on the question of for whom Christ's atonement was made. The traditional Presbyterian position, following the Westminster Confession of Faith, confesses an atonement made for the people God has chosen. The Wesleyan theological tradition, including Methodist and Holiness churches, teaches an atonement for all people.
• In Korea, Full Gospel (Pentecostal) bodies such as the Korea Assemblies of God emphasize that Christ's atonement also includes the healing of sickness, that is, divine healing (Isaiah 53:5).